OLLU soccer athletes dedicate their time to help those in need - Our Lady of the Lake University Athletics

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WOMEN'S SOCCER

OLLU soccer athletes dedicate their time to help those in need

Women's Soccer - Mon, Mar. 28, 2011
Patricia Constantin

SAN ANTONIO (March 28, 2011) -- Although college soccer season doesn't start for another five months, the Saints teams of Our Lady of the Lake University have been dedicating their free time to the sport to help those in need.

Aside from coaching and mentoring young children from the local YWCA on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the men and women soccer-athletes spent Saturday, March 26, at the Second Annual TOPSoccer Festival held at the STAR Soccer Complex. The event, which featured about 150 special-needs athletes, was sponsored by the South Texas Youth Soccer Association (STYSA) and U.S. Youth Soccer. The community-based program caters to the needs of children with physical and/or mental disabilities.

Saints Head Coach Shane Hurley and Assistant Coach Arthur Salazar have worked with the STYSA for many years. "When they asked if we'd be interested in participating in TOPSoccer, we did not hesitate to say yes," said Salazar. "Members of our team love working with children and they were eager to volunteer."

Saints athletes Hailey Olden, Nikole Gase, Lauren Schultz, Evelyn Robledo, Bianca Ramirez, Jeanette Montes (pictured at left), Jasmine Martinez (pictured at right), Cassie Lane and Octavio Herrera coached the participants -- ranging from toddler-age to 16-years-and-older -- during the festival. Player participation and development were key elements of the program as players were placed on teams according to ability and not by age. The program helped improve the children's overall fitness, self-esteem and social skills.

Sophomore defender Octavio Herrera thought the afternoon was a lot of fun. "We had a blast with Kyle (a 21-year-old participant). He played as goalie and he did really well. When he'd throw the ball out to one of us, the ball would go farther each time." After the festival ended, Herrera and the rest of the Saints gave Kyle autographed OLLU Saints' jerseys as mementos.

Meanwhile, every Tuesday and Thursday through mid-April, the Saints will continue their collaboration with the YWCA. In 2008, YMCA's Lee Williams and his colleague Nick Evans wanted to make a new addition to the Positive Youth Development (PYD) program by adding soccer as one of the many sports offered. The first year they worked with the University of Incarnate Word, and the second year, they collaborated with both UIW and OLLU. Now, in their third year, they are working with just OLLU and using the OLLU soccer facilities at St. Martin Hall rather than the Las Palmas softball fields they had used in prior years.

In the program, the OLLU soccer players are paired up and are assigned to be either a head or assistant coach to a group of kids.

"We teach the kids the basics for soccer," says Gary Hamilton, a junior and captain of the soccer team at the Lake, "We are trying to show these kids the basics of the sport, while, at the same time, making it as much fun as possible."

"My favorite part would have to be their reactions," says junior soccer athlete Bianca Ramirez. "Little kids have no control over what they say or do and it makes the time out there so much more fun; I have found myself in tears from laughing so hard."

Not only do the kids have fun learning about soccer, they get many positive role models out of it.

Community service projects such as the TOPSoccer Festival and the YWCA collaboration are encouraged by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) as part of its Champions of Character program. The program aims to instill five core values in NAIA athletes and coaches: respect, responsibility, integrity, servant leadership and sportsmanship. Every year since entering intercollegiate athletics in 2007, OLLU has been selected as a Champions of Character Institution. In 2009-2010, OLLU was selected as a Five-Star Champions of Character School based on its demonstrated commitment to Champions of Character in the following categories: character training, conduct in competition, academic focus, character recognition and character promotion.